For instance, in relation to devices, such as portable phone terminals and portable information terminals (PDAs), there is an increasing number of models equipped with touch panels for input operation purpose. A touch panel of this type has a touch sensor arranged so as to superpose a display screen. When a user touches the display screen by use of his/her finger or a pointed pen (a stylus), the touch sensor detects a contacted position. The thus-detected position and a position of a button or icon appearing on the screen are compared with each other, whereby a determination is made as to whether or not the user has operated the button or icon on the screen.
Adoption of such a touch panel enables omission of a keyboard, or the like, including a plurality of physical switches or buttons. Further, since a change can be made to the number, shapes, layout, and the like, of buttons or icons displayed on the screen when necessary, a higher degree of freedom is accomplished.
An example known related-art technique about a portable terminal using a touch panel is described in connection with Patent document 1.
A portable phone terminal, or the like, often employs an enclosure of a structure that becomes comparatively smaller when carried and that can be folded into a size which makes the terminal easy to handle during use, or an enclosure of a structure that enables deformation.
For instance, Patent Document 2 describes an enclosure that includes two members arranged in an overlapping fashion and that is configured such that the two members make relative movements (sliding actions), thereby enabling expansion and contraction of the enclosure.
Incidentally, in reality, it is often the case where even a portable terminal using a touch panel is equipped with an operation section (hereinafter called a “stationary operation section”) including a plurality of physical switches and buttons other than the touch panel. Specifically, there are also cases where a restriction is imposed on the number of buttons displayable on a touch panel or a size of buttons displayable on a touch panel becomes smaller. Under a circumstance where input operability is of importance as in a case of; for instance, preparation of a text, it is easy for the user to use a stationary operation section, such as a keyboard including a plurality of buttons, than the touch panel.
However, the terminal is equipped with both the touch panel and the stationary operation section, the terminal becomes larger in size. Accordingly, some commercially-available existing products of portable terminals adopt a slide enclosure, such as that described in connection with Patent Document 2. The enclosure is configured so as to become usable in both states; namely, a state where a stationary operation section is housed in a terminal when the user deforms the enclosure in an expanding or contracting manner and another state in which the stationary operation section becomes exposed on a front face of the terminal.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-2002-268776
Patent Document 2: JP-A-2006-314128